Business incubator axed, clients directed to SBDC

Last fall the City of Maricopa decided to not renew the annual contract with the Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship (NACET). The contract between the City of Maricopa and NACET has expired. The Maricopa Center for Entrepreneurship (MCE) will close over the next few days.

Current clients working with MCE will be able to receive services from the Small Business Development Center located at Central Arizona College’s Maricopa Campus. The SBDC has business analysts dedicated to assisting local businesses in the City of Maricopa.

The City has funded MCE for the past four years. Over 100 clients have received services through the center’s programming assisting entrepreneurs in everything from transitioning from an employee to employer and mapping out weekly actions to developing a sales acumen and being mentored by local business leaders.

In advance of the expiration of the contract with NACET the City issued a request for qualifications to find an organization to offer support to local entrepreneurs.

“Building an ecosystem for entrepreneurs is not done in a vacuum; often times it includes partners like educational institutions, corporate partners, municipal governments, financial capital partners,” said Mayor Christian Price. “We are excited to continue to be a part of building this ecosystem as we evaluate creative solutions targeted for our City to produce excellent results while partnering with other public and private organizations.”

“The Maricopa Center for Entrepreneurship has grown from a virtual location to a brick and mortar site which offered services to many growing entrepreneurs and served as a centralized location for the community to gather. I am excited to see what becomes of the entrepreneurial hub in the future,” said Quintin Baker, Executive Director for MCE.

“The Central Arizona College SBDC is pleased to provide ongoing support to Maricopa’s business community. The center provides confidential, no-cost counseling to businesses that are dedicated to creating jobs and economic impact to the local communities they serve,” said Kevin Fort, director of the CAC SBDC.

“The City of Maricopa has more than 600 businesses including more than 300 home-based businesses who we work with on a daily basis,” explains Economic Development Director Denyse Airheart. “We are committed to creating an environment for these businesses to grow and succeed. We are looking forward to evaluating our options to ensure we provide the services that will most benefit our community.”

Registration with the SBDC and an appointment are required to meet with their business analyst. To register for an appointment, go to https://centralaz.edu/community/business-outreach/small-business-development-center/ or call 520-494-6610. To contact the City’s Economic Development Department call 520-316-6990 or email [email protected].